The truth about dynaglide and safety...

[WV]

You pull the ridgeline or suspension as tight as you can. I ask because you could have a guitar string tight and still have a 30 degree hang angle.

I'm not sure what you're asking here. I was referring to a suspension in which the hammock hangs from a structural ridgeline attached to the tarp. First the tarp ridgeline is pulled very tight (maybe less than 5°). Then the hammock is attached to the ridgeline, hanging at approximately 30° from the center section of the ridgeline. When I get in the hammock, my weight pulls the end sections of the ridgeline down about 15° from the horizontal. Hope this helps.


Don't forget a safety factor. My use of 3x is actually considered a bit risky. Some people recommend up to 10x.

[TheIrishmanHangeth]

I'm not sure what you're asking here. I was referring to a suspension in which the hammock hangs from a structural ridgeline attached to the tarp. First the tarp ridgeline is pulled very tight (maybe less than 5°). Then the hammock is attached to the ridgeline, hanging at approximately 30° from the center section of the ridgeline. When I get in the hammock, my weight pulls the end sections of the ridgeline down about 15° from the horizontal. Hope this helps.


Don't forget a safety factor. My use of 3x is actually considered a bit risky. Some people recommend up to 10x.

Ah, I was thinking you were using a standard hammock that had the ridgeline attached to the suspension, not the other way around, my fault.

[Goose 1]

All knots reduce the strength of a line by at least 40%.

That's a bit of an exaggeration. There are a lot of variables (i.e., type of rope; knot you've tied). But when it comes to any knot used for climbing, the only knot that gets that low is a bowline. Many climbing knots are going to reduce the strength no more than 30%.

http://www.paci.com.au/downloads_pub...tute_Tests.pdf

I tie a Double Figure 8 on my adventure challenge course, and testing shows the knot only reduces a ropes strength by 18%.

[MAD777]

Ropes and webbings degrade, they are damaged by UV and abrasion. Check it often and replace any components that may have worn to the point of needing to be retired.

To reiterate Paul's point, I inspect my suspension on every outing. I have replaced a few sets of straps.

I like this hammock thing, so I don't want to end up sleeping on the ground again, especially in the middle of the night!

[JohnSawyer]

Mad, we call that Spontanous Ground Dwelling. It ain't ever pretty...

Energetic Ground Dwelling? Gravitationally Assisted Ground Dwelling?

wait... Got it...

Kinetically Enhanced Spontanous Ground Dwelling

[michaeldoe62]

Pretty happy about the info here, a quick snap of my suspension and the thought of falling to the ground had been on my mind. This helps put those fears to bed, for now. Thanks!

[TheIrishmanHangeth]

Pretty happy about the info here, a quick snap of my suspension and the thought of falling to the ground had been on my mind. This helps put those fears to bed, for now. Thanks!

You're quite welcome, you would have to be putting a pretty intense amount of force on whoopie slings to cause them to just snap out of the blue with no other damage present. Even dynaglide. Which is why it is important, as previously stated, to regularly inspect your suspension and to replace it if there are any signs of abnormal wear.

[iRokk]

My girlfriend and I weigh a collective just over 300, and we've been fine hanging from the 7/64 Amsteel for hours on end. I do try to get my angle pretty close to 30 degrees. Still no problems when I stick my foot out of the hammock and give us a little push to rock us to sleep

[nothermark]

If you look at the breaking test it is worth pointing out there is a noticeable difference between the line types. There was a similar test published using dyneema based rope from the logging industry. All of them used something like a 1 inch pin for an anchor on the testing machine so the break would be at the knot/fastener. Failure is caused by tight radius turns over things like another rope or small hardware. Given those derating factors and a preferred safety factor of at least 5:1 and better yet 10:1 I would hang close to the ground with very light tackle like you are talking about as sooner or later you will be on it.

When using a very hard material like dyneema it is also abrasive so one needs to watch for problems like cutting the webbing above a knot/toggle if repeatedly hanging in the same place with the same placement.

[TheIrishmanHangeth]

When using a very hard material like dyneema it is also abrasive so one needs to watch for problems like cutting the webbing above a knot/toggle if repeatedly hanging in the same place with the same placement.

Good point, one way to mitigate that could be to use a whipping knot to close down the adjustable loop when on the knot effectively turning it and the tree strap into one fixed piece so that any movement in the hammock would cause the the two to swing as one, thus preventing the abrading of the tree strap.